Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster

Turn single coils into humbuckers

Our Verdict

Such is its tone shaping and boosting potential, you may even find yourself wanting more than one...

Pros

It works and the results are impressive. Top-notch build. Easy to use.

Cons

Very little.

Not only the home of a huge range of retro-fit pickups, Seymour Duncan has, in recent years, produced some rather good stompboxes.

Its original pedal was the Pickup Booster, which has been out of production for a couple of years; now it's back - slightly upgraded, but essentially the same.

"The new spec offers a footswitchable gain boost from 0dB to a pretty substantial 25dB lift"

Now assembled at SD HQ in Santa Barbara, aside from a lighter, more generic rectangular box, the new spec offers a footswitchable gain boost from 0dB to a pretty substantial 25dB lift.

On unity gain (0dB), with the resonance switch set at 0, it's a low-impedance line driver that'll clean up long cable runs, or simply raise gain to add crunch to the front-end of your amp and/or a full-on solo boost.

Flick the resonance switch to position 1 and it changes a single coil to the smoother, rounded top-end of a vintage humbucker.

In position 2, the effect is enhanced, simulating a darker 'bucker - in either position, you still have the full range of the gain boost.

With a vintage-spec Strat, for example, it's like adding a humbucker to your guitar - in vintage or high-gain flavour - while the boost potential will really get you heard.

The best of MusicRadar in your inbox

Don't miss the latest deals, news, reviews, features and tutorials

No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission.